Loch Sport Boat Club

About Loch Sport Boat Club

Not every club on the Gippsland Lakes measures itself in championship pennants. Loch Sport Boat Club is a volunteer-run community boating organisation on the shore of Lake Victoria, and its charter is broader than racing: the club serves as the managing committee of the Loch Sport Safety & Water Sports Centre, champions safe boating, and exists just as much for social fellowship and marine recreation as for competition. Sailing sits inside that mix alongside powerboating, fishing and a busy events calendar that runs most of the year.

The club was started by holidaymakers in January 1965, and that holiday-town character never left it. Family-based activity has been encouraged from the beginning, and the membership structure reflects it, with categories for families, singles and youth, plus a social tier that opens the door to the Boaties Bar for those who prefer their sailing from a deck chair. Membership also brings access to the club rooms and registration with Australian Sailing.

Sailors who do want a start line get one. The club has hosted the Eastern Region Interclub Regatta for Victorian Gippsland clubs, and its annual Lakes Challenge draws trailable yachts onto Lake Victoria. The clubhouse itself tells the story of the place: after nearly three decades without a permanent home, more than sixty volunteers built the centre with their own hands. That practical, pitch-in spirit defines the club today — a small lakeside community organisation where boating of every kind is welcome, and where the same people who run the bar on Saturday night are likely to be laying marks on Sunday morning.

Services

• Sailing club

Service area

Loch Sport, VIC